The politics of the year-end spending deal could push critical funding for low-income children’s health insurance into next year, leaving thousands of pregnant women vulnerable to loss of prenatal coverage.

While the majority of the population covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program are kids, pregnant women also rely on the program as a source of coverage. CHIP covers roughly 9 million low-income kids and approximately 370,000 pregnant women, some of whom may not have another option for health insurance should a state have to close its program.

“The one thing about the pregnant-women coverage is it, in many cases, can be provided through CHIP without regard to immigration status,” said Edwin Park, vice president for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “For someone who is receiving these services, they may not be eligible for other forms of coverage like the [Obamacare] marketplace.”

Funding for the program expired in September and states have had to prepare to shut down or scale back their programs in some way. Colorado, for example, has begun sending out letters to members and families saying the program will end on Jan. 31.

Receiving notices that the program may shut down could cause confusion among users of the program. “If the word starts getting around that Congress may not fund it, they may think it’s not there already,” said Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. “I worry that we’ll start losing kids and pregnant women.”

Experts and advocates note that some pregnant women could face a disruption in coverage during an important time of their pregnancy.

“A gap in coverage could fall during a critical window of prenatal care, making it difficult or impossible for expectant mothers to see a doctor or get treatment for conditions like high blood pressure or gestational diabetes,” said the March of Dimes in a statement. The group adds that a pregnant woman could be left with high costs if coverage lapses when she gives birth or if the child is born with health issues.

As of January, five states extended coverage for pregnant women through CHIP and 16 states use the program funding to provide coverage through the unborn-child option, where pregnant women can be covered regardless of immigration status, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The March of Dimes says seven states that cover pregnant women are expected to exhaust CHIP funds by the end of January: Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

But it looks like the path to getting funding renewed by the end of the year could be a heavy lift for Congress.

House Republicans this week released a year-end continuing resolution that would extend CHIP for five years and community health centers for two years, but uses controversial offsets not supported by Democrats. This includes reducing the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund and making wealthier beneficiaries pay higher Medicare premiums.

“I don’t think the House CHIP bill moves the agenda forward at all,” said Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden. “It is yet another partisan approach; looks like it’s trying to score partisan points rather than dealing with the serious problem.”

But Senate lawmakers have not released an alternative set of offsets. “We are continuing to work closely together,” said Wyden.

If lawmakers fail to get to an agreement, they could fall back on a similar short-term patch that they used in the two-week continuing resolution to keep states afloat through the end of the year. But this did not include new funds, and advocacy groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the stopgap measure did not address issues facing the program.

“States will use their limited staff time and resources developing contingency plans and notices to families,” the groups said in a statement this month. “As more states send out notices, more families will become confused and it becomes increasingly likely that some children will miss doctor appointments or go without medication, or that some pregnant women will go without prenatal care.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is doling out redistribution funds—unused CHIP allotment money—to shortfall states, but that funding source will not last forever.

“I would be very surprised if CHIP could get through January without new money … at some point, the redistribution pot is going to run out,” said Alker.

"President Trump signed a sweeping spending bill Friday afternoon, averting another partial government shutdown. The action came after Trump had declared a national emergency in a move designed to circumvent Congress and build additional barriers at the southern border, where he said the United States faces 'an invasion of our country.'"

Source:

REDIRECTS $8 BILLION

Trump Declares National Emergency

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"President Donald Trump on Friday declared a state of emergency on the southern border and immediately direct $8 billion to construct or repair as many as 234 miles of a border barrier. The move — which is sure to invite vigorous legal challenges from activists and government officials — comes after Trump failed to get the $5.7 billion he was seeking from lawmakers. Instead, Trump agreed to sign a deal that included just $1.375 for border security."

Source:

COULD SOW DIVISION AMONG REPUBLICANS

House Will Condemn Emergency Declaration

6 days ago

THE DETAILS

"House Democrats are gearing up to pass a joint resolution disapproving of President Trump’s emergency declaration to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall, a move that will force Senate Republicans to vote on a contentious issue that divides their party. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Thursday evening in an interview with The Washington Post that the House would take up the resolution in the coming days or weeks. The measure is expected to easily clear the Democratic-led House, and because it would be privileged, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be forced to put the resolution to a vote that he could lose."

Source:

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DRUG FORFEITURE FUND

Where Will the Emergency Money Come From?

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"ABC News has learned the president plans to announce on Friday his intention to spend about $8 billion on the border wall with a mix of spending from Congressional appropriations approved Thursday night, executive action and an emergency declaration. A senior White House official familiar with the plan told ABC News that $1.375 billion would come from the spending bill Congress passed Thursday; $600 million would come from the Treasury Department's drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion would come from the Pentagon's drug interdiction program; and through an emergency declaration: $3.5 billion from the Pentagon's military construction budget."

Source:

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SIGN

House Passes Funding Deal

1 weeks ago

THE DETAILS

"The House passed a massive border and budget bill that would avert a shutdown and keep the government funded through the end of September. The Senate passed the measure earlier Thursday. The bill provides $1.375 billion for fences, far short of the $5.7 billion President Trump had demanded to fund steel walls. But the president says he will sign the legislation, and instead seek to fund his border wall by declaring a national emergency."